Downtown Atlanta's historic Grant Building to be bought for $7.25M

Downtown Atlanta's historic The Grant Building, whose owner filed for bankruptcy protection in January, will be purchased for $7.25 million.

The building's owner, B.C. Grand LLC, reached the deal with 57 Dudley LLC on March 31, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta. The deal will have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.

The Grant Building sale comes as south downtown is on the cusp of a redevelopment boom. The city of Atlanta's sale of Underground Atlanta to developer WRS Inc. for $34.6 million also closed March 31. The Grant Building is in the Fairlie-Poplar District, a short distance from Underground Atlanta.

The 10-story office building has 126,741 square feet. "The Grant Building is one of the oldest high-rise buildings in downtown Atlanta," notes the March 31 bankruptcy court filing. "Its architects were sent to study the styles of commercial architecture being constructed in Chicago in the late 1800s, and the building was constructed in that style, with construction completed in the year 1898. The Grant Building has a historic façade and lobby, and has been utilized recently as a location for filming television shows."

The court filing notes that shortly after Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in January that the building owner had filed for bankruptcy and the building was for sale, purchase offers began to pour in. The building got so many offers its owner didn't have to use a broker to find a buyer.

"Debtor has evaluated all of the offers to purchase the Property, and generally has made counter-offers to potential buyers in an effort to obtain sale prices higher than what was offered," the owner says in the court filing. "Debtor has, in many instances, indicated to potential purchasers when higher offers existed so that the potential purchasers could seek to top the other existing offers. That process occurred on an ongoing basis since filing of the bankruptcy petition."